Blackface came about in the 1800s when performers used black paint or shoe polish to depict a black character in the theatre. These characters often depicted racist stereotypes and perceptions, which were brought to a halt during the U.S. civil rights movement.

The Book Week blackface incident came about on Thursday when a Perth mother posted a photo of her son dressed up as the West Coast Eagles star on Facebook, painted brown with a black wig.

Fairfax: Twitter
A Perth mother dressed her son up as AFL player Nic Naitanui for Book Week.

The mother wrote she was initially concerned about painting her son because of extreme political correctness, but boasted about growing "a set of balls" which paid off because her son won the parade.

The post has been deleted.

As part of Book Week, children across the country were encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character or personal hero.

In another post on Thursday, the boy's mother said she had been called every name under the sun but also claimed she'd been inundated with messages of appraisal from other mothers.